


boys over cheese

by apeunde



Category: VIXX
Genre: M/M, cheese boy au, idk yeah, just happened a long time ago
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-24
Updated: 2015-08-24
Packaged: 2018-04-17 00:55:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,646
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4646349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/apeunde/pseuds/apeunde
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>sanghyuk is the cheese boy and wonshik the confident customer, and hongbin just stands half on the side silently cowering in jealousy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	boys over cheese

„Hey, I’ll just go to the back for a minute to stack up the incoming ware, okay? Think you can handle it alone?”

Hongbin’s words reach his ears, and Sanghyuk lets his eyes wander throughout the small store. It’s a sunny Thursday afternoon, and the customers are scarce. Not that a lot of people find their way into a Cheese Specialty Shop in this part of town, anyways. Sangyhuk nods at Hongbin’s words, forgetting that the older male can’t see him.

“Yeah, no worries. There’s barely any business anyway.” He pipes up.

Hongbin gives a sound of agreement before he saunters off to the back, perfect face still in concentration, and after a minute Sanghyuk can already hear the wooden boxes being put into order. He sighs deeply in boredom, flicking away some stray crumbs of cheese that are lingering on the cutting board. He vaguely identifies them as Swiss Gouda, something he had just cut a tiny piece off for him to nibble on when he feels like it. Needless to say, the piece of cheese had been devoured by a greedy mouth in less than five minutes.

Sanghyuk steps up and down behind the counter, his eyes straining on the display of various cheeses. He tries to see if any of them are out of order or if their position is slightly crooked, but he can’t find anything that would need fixing. Which doesn’t come as a surprise, considering he has been doing this for the past two hours. His brown eyes trail up to the clock hanging on the wall next to the door that leads to the back of the store, and he reads the current time to be sixteen minutes and twelve seconds after four, which leaves him with roughly three more hours to spend this exact same way.

Suddenly the bell at the front chimes when the door is opening, and Sanghyuk’s gaze lands on a young male with hydrogen-blonde hair and somewhat unique features that he can’t describe as anything else but remarkable. And quite handsome, he dares to think. The other male’s eyes wander around the inconspicuous shop for a minute before landing on his face, an inviting smile curving his lips.

“Hey!”

His voice is deep and calm, and Sanghyuk is taken aback by the confidence that is woven in it. He doesn’t look that much older than him, Sanghyuk reckons as he gives him a quick once over, his eyes lingering on the sneakers at his feet and the somewhat overdramatic fake-diamond studded belt buckle that hangs low at his hips. No, he thinks, this kid doesn’t look much older than him at all.

“Hello.” Sanghyuk answers all business, his for-customers-only smile draping over his full lips. He waits patiently for the customer to speak, the other’s eyes trailing over the display of dairy products, from time to time flickering up to meet Sanghyuk’s waiting ones.

“I’m looking for something that goes well with a decent glass of red wine.” The other finally announces, and Sanghyuk immediately raises an eyebrow. To Sanghuyuk, he doesn’t really look like the type of guy you’d associate with wine. The customer catches his surprise and chuckles, the sound low and deep. “It’s not for me, my parents have their anniversary and I’d like to give them something they don’t usually get.”

“So you get them cheese?” Sanghyuk can’t help but ask, instantly biting his lower lip. He can’t help but feel slightly curious about the other, no matter how many times Hongbin’s words (‘don’t get too chatty with them, I don’t pay you for listening to their lifestory’) rotate at the back of his head. He seems… interesting.

The customer looks at him for a moment, and Sanghyuk instantly averts his eyes to inspect the cheese in front of him more clearly, warmth spreading in his cheeks as he checks for a good proposition. The other’s voice is lacing with a slight question mark when he speaks again.

“I guess so.”

Sanghyuk tries not to feel slightly guilty but he fails. Then again, he never was good at not feeling guilty because of the littlest things. He ducks his head, trying to avoid any more awkward words that might stumble from his lips, and when he comes back up, it’s with a little variation of the usual of most customers’ selection. He clears his throat.

“U-uhm, well… These go very well along with red wine. Here we have the Comté,“ He points at the one on the far left. The light blonde head of the customer swings towards it, eyes flickering across the plaque with the name. “It’s rather creamy with a nice aromatic note. Compared to its usual taste though, this one is a little softer because it has been made during summer. Then we have-“ He points at one of the cheeses in the middle of the array, the customer’s eyes following to where he is indicating. “The Alpikoner. It’s a Swiss cheese, its dark crust is actually rasped oak bark – I wouldn’t recommend eating it along with it. But it has a strong aromatic taste which goes well with about any kind of red wine. Then there is the Wildflower.” Sanghyuk points to another that was sitting almost next to the previous one. “That one is somewhat more special. Its crust is actually eatable and is made of wild dried flowers and herbs, the aroma of those actually flowing into the otherwise slightly spicy aromatic taste of the cheese. And last but not least, we have the Gruyere,” he points to the far right, “which is the oldest out of these and has the most aromatic taste. Because it’s so old it has little salt crystals in it that enhance the flavor especially of dry wine.”

As he finishes his explanation he looks up, and is almost startled when he sees the other’s eyes fixed on him, a small amazed twinkle in them.

“Wow, you know a lot about these. Are you the owner of this shop or something?”

Sanghyuk feels his stomach do a little flip at the words. He quickly brings up his hands in front of his chest in denial, shaking his head vigorously.

“Oh no, no I’m not. Hongbin is – I mean, I’m only working here part time.”

The customer smiles at him, and Sanghyuk feels his heart making a little jump. He has a nice smile, he thinks. And just as fast as the thought comes he tries to get it out of his head. Focus, Sanghyuk. This is work.

“I was just kidding. There is no way someone as young as you owns this place.” A small chuckle escapes the other’s lips again, and Sanghyuk feels like he wants to hit himself for his own stupidity. And maybe for the fact that anyone can see his age clearly written on his still present baby face. “You know what,” the other starts, “I’m gonna take one of the ones you suggested.”

Sanghyuk waits for the other’s decision, their eyes meeting. The other’s gaze is intense on his own, and there, he feels the little tingles in the pit of his stomach again. A small smirk washes over his customer’s face, and Sanghyuk feels like he’s missing something.

“But instead of me choosing,” he starts again, eyes still locked with Sanghyuk’s (who feels like he is so close to melting under that gaze), “you give me your favorite.”

Sanghyuk’s mouth starts to feel dry and his cheeks flush red, and before he can do anything he hears faint footsteps behind him getting louder and louder until he can hear Hongbin walking through the back door again. His boss is luckily unaware of the situation at hand, and once Hongbin asks him if he needs help with anything, he can finally break free from his customer’s gaze to mutter a low ‘no’, and stumble over to wrap a nice piece of the Wildflower into a present box.

He is still slightly light headed when his customer pays with a smug expression and leaves, a fact that doesn’t escape Hongbin’s doe eyes.

“You sure you’re alright?” He asks, and his usually bright, handsome features are drawn together in a slight frown. Sanghyuk simply nods, still looking at the door where the other has just passed through, and Hongbin decides he doesn’t need to watch this. Just as Hongbin turns around to leave again, Sanghyuk’s voice resonates in the tensed silence of the shop.

“He was quite handsome, wasn’t he?”

Hongbin halts abruptly, his face turning back to look at the younger, and his expression turns bitter (Sanghyuk doesn’t see that, though – he is still much too preoccupied with the closed door). He mumbles something along the lines of ‘I don’t really think so’ before he resorts to stacking some new wrapping paper onto the counter. This time, as Sanghyuk’s gaze turns towards the elder, he can see those pretty lips of his form into a dejected line, his hands letting the stack of wrapping papers fall into place with a good amount more of increased force than Sanghyuk would have deemed necessary, and now his stomach flips because of another reason that just trickled through his sometimes dense mind.

Oh, is all he can think as he watches Hongbin going out the back without another glance back at him. He can’t tell if the butterflies currently brushing along his insides have survived, or if they just hatched a second ago.

 

The next time the customer comes into the shop, he is greeted by the slightly curly light brown hair of the owner instead of the ebony dark short strands of the part timer. His expression falls a little in disappointment, but he makes his way over to the counter nevertheless.

“Hi.”

Pretty almond eyes look up at him from their former task, and he can see the short flash of recognition in the other’s orbs. The gaze shifts to the border of being cold, and he wonders what was up to be regarded with such apprehension.

“Good day.”

The reply is impersonal and polite, yet the voice is laced with a gruff edge that doesn’t escape the customer. He is silent for a moment, looking back at those brown eyes that are boring into his, and he wonders what he might have done to the person behind the counter.

There’s silence between them as none of the two feel inclined to speak, still eyeing each other to measure the threats. Hongbin’s thoughts immediately fly to Sanghyuk at the back and he sends a silent prayer in the direction of the back door that the younger won’t come walking in while the customer is still in the shop. He can’t say why, but something about the young male (who should be about his ageinstead of Sanghyuk’s actually) with his ridiculously bright hair and ridiculously low hanging pants make him want to frown. Okay, maybe it is the way Sanghyuk clearly was burning up a few shades of red darker the last time Hongbin saw the customer in his shop. Maybe, he will only hold that against himself if he admits to Sanghyuk, and that’s completely out of the question. Hongbin clears his throat at last. He can’t just stand by idly when a customer is around, even if it’s one he’d rather not have.

“Can I help you with something?”

The cold edge to his voice doesn’t waver, and the customer’s eyes dart around the shop before he answers.

“Uh, I actually came by to see your part timer? Is he around?”

Hongbin’s jaw clenches and he has to bring his hands behind his back so they don’t give his trembling fingers away. Calm, Hongbin, be calm, is what he tells himself. Heck, he can’t go around having a fit of jealousy against anyone that wants to speak with Sanghyuk – that wouldn’t help him get anywhere closer to the younger part timer at all.

“He’s in the back,” Hongbin answers truthfully, albeit reluctantly. He doesn’t like to lie – even if it would maybe help him to get rid of the man in front of him.

The other looks expectant, his eyes flickering to the back door and to Hongbin again, as if he is waiting for something. Hongbin just looks at him, his eyebrows lifting in a silent ‘what’. The customer clears his throat, smiling hesitantly.

“Would you mind calling him for me?”

Hongbin’s nails drive into his skin behind his back. He tries not to give into the urge to tell the other to leave the shop right that moment, tries to keep a clear mind without his jealousy winding its tendrils into his thoughts. Hongbin knows he’s more the possessive type, but right now he’s starting to scare himself.

“I’m sorry, I can’t do that. He needs to get his work done, we got a big delivery today.”

The other’s smile falls a little, and Hongbin tries very hard not to feel bad. After all, the other didn’t do anything wrong. Hongbin just didn’t like how curious he was about Sanghyuk, and if Hongbin thinks about that a little more clearly, there was no crime anywhere near that. He sighed in defeat, feeling his conscience nag at the back of his head.

“I can’t call him out, but if you want, I can take a message?”

The other ponders over this for a second before he reaches into his backpack that is dangling from his shoulder, getting out a little notebook and a pen. He opens the book and scribbles something down, his hand covering the penmanship from Hongbin’s eyes. When he finishes, he rips the written on part off, and folds it in four. With a smile, he hands Hongbin the folded piece of paper over the counter.

“Just give him this. Thank you!”

And with that he turns around and makes his way towards the door. Hongbin watches him go for a second before his eyes trail to the paper in his hands. Jealousy nags at his entrails again as he sees the slowly unfolding messy letters and numbers scribbled down across the lines.

Thanks for the good suggestion, my parents loved it!  
Why don’t you call me so I can make it up to you some time?  
07xx – xxxx – xxxx  
Kim Wonshik

Hongbin’s fingers close tightly around the paper as Sanghyuk comes through the back door just in time to see the front door closing with a jiggle of the bell and to catch the familiar whitish blonde strands of hair retreat onto the street. His eyes open wide in surprise, and a little sound escapes his lips before he turns towards his boss.

“Oh, wasn’t that…? What did he want? Did he buy something?”

Sanghyuk’s eyes lock with Hongbin’s, and the younger feels a small blush creep to his cheeks at the near scorching gaze the other is giving him. It feels like he’s rooted on the spot, but he shouldn’t have expected anything else. Hongbin’s eyes can hypnotize you, he’s one-hundred-and-thirty-five percent sure.

“Nothing. He didn’t buy anything.”

Hongbin takes the wrapping that he used to cut cheese on and crumbles it in his hands before throwing it into the bin. Then he resumes rearranging the display in the counter, decidedly ignoring the other’s surprised gaze on him. Sanghyuk’s eyes fall to the papers in the bin, and he notices that another smaller one had fallen out from the wrapping paper Hongbin had just discarded, onto the floor. He makes his way over curiously, unfolding the paper as he stands back up. His eyes widen at the written words and his lips curve into a smil, before he tucks the piece of paper securely into his back pocket.

He really needed to have a little talk with Hongbin before the other would start getting jealous over the simplest things.

**Author's Note:**

> sO yeah when I wrote this I was new in the fandom and I didn't know how to end this... I left it open for interpretation bc I wanted both ships to like have a possible good ending so.... whichever one you prefer will be the main one hahaha


End file.
